1. Field
The present invention relates to a vehicle controller, and more specifically to a vehicle controller configured to perform automated drive control that automatically controls at least one of acceleration/deceleration and steering of a host vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2017-146819, there is a vehicle controller including an automated drive control unit that automatically controls at least one of acceleration/deceleration and steering of a host vehicle so that the host vehicle can drive along a route to a destination.
When switching an automated drive mode to a manual drive mode while a vehicle is traveling, the vehicle controller under automated drive control as described above needs to shift a vehicle driving force from the vehicle driving force in the automated drive mode to the vehicle driving force requested by the driver in the manual drive mode. In this case, if there is a big difference between the vehicle driving force in the automated drive mode and the vehicle driving force requested by the driver in the manual drive mode, for example, an excessively high shift rate (change rate) of the driving force may result in the occurrence of large vibrations or noise in a driving force transmission mechanism including a transmission or the like during the shift, and affect the ride quality of the vehicle and the like. Therefore, there is a need to smoothly complete switching of a drive mode by shifting the driving force without generating such vibrations or noise.
Meanwhile, there is a case where the driver performs an operation such as an operation of accelerator pedal or a brake pedal, an operation of a steering wheel, or an operation of a paddle while the vehicle is traveling under the automated drive mode, or performs any of these operations after making an automated drive release request to release the automated drive mode and switch to the manual drive mode. Such an operation is likely to be a request made by the driver who desires to promptly control steering or acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle on his/her own will. In such a case, it is desirable that the shift to the vehicle driving force requested by the driver in the manual drive mode be completed as early as possible.